Lakeside Park
The wolf was not long for this world. His doctors said he would soon pass into the world to come and that he would have only a few short moments left with his family and friends on earth. So he remembered and feasted upon the past, his aged mind recalling a day from many decades ago where he felt truly alive. And he was taken back to those days of his youth...
David Hollowell had one place on his mind to take his girlfriend, Jennifer Baker. The wolf couple really had the kind of synchronicity that only a couple wrapped in the delirium of love can have. They were both only 17 and he knew that she would be the perfect match, same species, same personality type, the two were made for each other. Sitting in his high school classes at Dalhousie, which served the entire Annex, he noticed the she-wolf for the very first time. Now they had sat in the same classes since junior high but at those times, David did not notice that she was such an attractive female wolf until that moment. He had worked up the courage for weeks trying to ask her out and eventually she relented. That was the happiest moment of David's life. And now after weeks of careful planning and discussion by both parties, the time had come for the two lovestruck wolves to join paws and go on their first date.
"How does a movie sound?" she would say, for that weekend when their schoolwork was mercifully finished, his parents would be out of town and they had the entire weekend to themselves.
"Can't. I don't have the money," David lied. He had the money but the prospect of going to watch another forgettable snoozefest of a movie seemed to him to be a waste of time especially considering the weather for that weekend was going to be perfect.
With no movies that were worth seeing and no sporting events planned for the weekend by the local teams, David thought about places they could go to have a romantic afternoon. That was when the wolf had a brainstorm.
"When I was just a whelp, I would always enjoy going to Lakeside Park with my family." It was something he just blurted out without realizing the effects. But in fairness, he had thought of an attractive and wonderful place to spend an afternoon, filled with music, laughter, and joy- and the love of a first crush. It was sure to be a great Saturday, the 24th of May the kind both wolves would remember for many years to come as their respective first dates.
The morning came too soon the next day but David was prepared, actually somewhat anxious for this date with his girlfriend as he slipped his pants over his tail and white button-up shirt, adding also a red silk tie. It was the perfect sartorial combination of formal to prove that he had been thinking of his romantic day with Jennifer and casual because they were indeed going to the park. She arrived, wearing a beautiful salmon-pink dress with a red skirt and a wide-brimmed hat accentuated with a sunflower. In David's eyes, she looked more beautiful than anything found in nature, she was the most beautiful thing the wolf had ever laid eyes on and he would be fortunate enough to romance her on this fine day. The young couple walked to David's family's car, the light of the sun cascading brilliantly down on to the neighborhood.
"They're away for the weekend- they'll never know a thing so long as I'm careful." Lakeside Park was only a five-minute drive away and David was pretty certain in his driving skills to be able to drive that far. Thankfully, traffic was relatively limited even on a beautiful Saturday like this and the twolovers found a spot near the park.
When the two exited the vehicle, they were greeted by the familiar sounds of the park itself. They could see the brightly-dressed hawkers calling out to anyone with money to "try their luck" at winning prizes, usually stuffed animals and candy. This was of course, way too juvenile for a teenager to even bother with but their cries added a childish ambience to the park. The wolves' pointy ears perked up when they heard that old familiar melody wheezing out of the merry-go-round- it was the same song as had been playing when their parents were young. Honestly on a bright and sunny day such as this, with all the lush greenery of the park, and a lover to accompany and escort him, David could not have asked for anything better. He knew that in his right pocket, his wallet carried the key to heaven's door. The wolf had enough loonies for he and Jennifer to have plenty of fun and eat some of the carnival food- and this park was a vanity fair for anything he or his girlfriend could possibly want.
"This place is beautiful- so much better than the movies. Why have two hours of force-fed entertainment when you could have something tangible, something we can touch and feel?" she said, squeezing his paw and resting her head on David's shoulder. The willows waving back and forth in the breeze, other weekend revelers sailing off the beautiful Lake Ontario, the laughing rides and bright lights of the midway, the stars that would show forth that evening, and of course, a first date with his girlfriend- these would be the joyous recollections of his memory whenever the wolf needed them. The entire day dragged on, filled with good food, carnival rides, and merry-making until the sun dipped low under the horizon.
These would be remembered fondly as the summer days of freedom and nights of secrets illuminated and revealed by moonlight as David could see his fellow foxes, and wolves, and bears rediscovering their animal roots by sleeping by the campfire, underneath a canopy of stars. He and his girlfriend walked over by the lighthouse, where they had just a little to drink (this was Lakeside Park and they looked 18 years old- no one bothered to check.) But even in the serenity of this park, David knew that someday he would grow old as would Jennifer, the music of the midway would die down, and the magic would be gone someday. Suddenly, the wolf's thoughts were interrupted by a crack and a red starburst- this was a night for fireworks as he and his girlfriend sat down their tails touching as the fireworks boomed and danced across the night sky as the crowd of onlookers sang.
Though it was only a memory, this was one of the memories that would last... forever.